Got your back
by PeggsterLover
Summary: 'He felt something cold pushed up against the back of his neck. Something that felt rather like metal. Something feeling uncomfortably like the barrel of a gun' Joel finds himself in a dangerous situation with a cop killer. How will he get out of this?


_So this is just a short one-shot showing the friendship Joel and Fearless have. _

_Summary: 'He felt something cold pushed up against the back of his neck. Something that felt rather like metal. Something feeling uncomfortably like the barrel of a gun' Joel finds himself in a dangerous situation with a cop killer. How will he get out of this?_

_I don't own the characters or anything else to do with the show. I wish I did own Joel… but I gotta just keep on dreaming…lol also, I'm not sure about Joel or Fearless' ages , but I always got the impression that Fearless is slightly older than Joel, so that's how I have written it. Hope that's ok with you all!_

_Hope you enjoy and remember, reviews are like chocolate for my muse :) _

_x_

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"Joel! I got him! He's gone in the warehouse! Call for back up!"

"Fearless wait! Don't go in…" but his partner had already disappeared into the dark building. "Alone… Damnit!" Joel hit the wall as he grabbed his cell phone and did as he was told. Once the call had been made, he brought his gun back in front of him and followed his partner. He knew this was a bad idea. Usually he wouldn't be stressing so much over splitting up, but this guy, Danson, was a cop killer. They had seen what he was capable of. The entire department had been hit hard by the brutal murder of Officer Matthews, but Fearless, as always, took it worst. He would probably have his guard down & Joel didn't want to turn a corner to see his partner dead on the floor.

Gun at the ready, Joel began to search for where his friend had gone to. He decided calling out to him wouldn't be the best option, as alerting the killer to his whereabouts could get one or both of them killed. He wandered across the large open room, making sure as to watch and listen for movement. He reached the other side and with one last look over his shoulder, he walked through the door. As he checked to his left, however, a sound behind him made his heart stop for a second.

_Click._

He felt something cold pushed up against the back of his neck. Something that felt rather like metal. Something feeling uncomfortably like the barrel of a gun.

"Don't move cop, or I'll blow your brains all over the wall for your partner to find." The voice came. "Don't say a word either. No trying to let your partner know about the fun we're having." Joel felt a hand roughly grab the back of his collar and yank his head backwards. A mouth came so close to his ear, he could almost feel the saliva from the man's lips as he spoke. "I killed a cop once without blinking, don't think I won't hesitate to do it again." The Danson's voice was taunting, causing Joel to relive the moment when he saw Officer Matthew's dead body lying in the alley. "Do you understand?" Joel gave a small nod. He felt his collar jerked back and forth harshly. "I said do you understand!" Danson's voice was a lot more forceful this time.

Without thinking, Joel blurted out "Yes!" and before he knew it, his head was forced into the wall next to him. The side of his face came into contact with the concrete and he began to see stars. He felt the skin above his left eyebrow split along with the left side of his lip. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth and he felt it also beginning to slide down the side of his face. He was dazed and felt his legs begin to give way, the force of the blow causing him to drop his gun. He immediately tried to stop himself from collapsing, however, that problem was dealt with by Danson, who kept a firm hold on his shirt and pulled him back to his standing position.

"I told you not to say a word, Detective Stevens." Joel's stomach did somersaults. This guy knew his name. What else did he know about him? About his family? Were Kelly and Willie safe? "Now, I want you to pick up your gun, by the barrel and slowly lift it over your right shoulder. Don't try anything." The last words were emphasized by another jerk of his shirt causing Joel to feel slightly nauseous. Joel nodded and slowly began to bend his knees to reach the floor. He grasped the barrel of his gun and slowly rose to his feet again. When he was standing fully, he did as he was told and placed the gun at his right shoulder. A split second later, it was snatched from his hand and he presumed that Danson shoved it in his jeans or something.

"Alright, Stevens, walk forward slowly." Not loosening the grip on Joel's shirt at all, he pushed the gun harder into the back of the young detective's neck, forcing him to take nervous steps forward. "Now we're going to leave the building and get in the car you arrived in. You're going to get into the drivers seat and when I say so, you're gonna start the engine and drive. You got that?" Joel nodded vigorously, ensuring Danson knew he had understood. So they were getting in the car and driving. Where to? What for? A question that troubled Joel more was what would Danson do with him once they had got away? Was he going to just take him as a hostage to make sure he was clear of the law and then kill him? Or did this cop killer have something else in store for him? He had been facing the barrel of a gun a few times in the past, but never once had Joel felt as terrified as he did now.

They turned a few corners before reaching the door Joel had entered only moments before. He wondered where Fearless was. Part of him worried that Danson had got to his partner first and then came for him. But he tried to convince himself that his friend was merely on the other side of the building and out of harms way. As the exited the building, he felt Danson looking around for people before pushing Joel forward again. As they neared the car, Joel felt as though he was being led to the gallows. Once he got in that car, he may never see his friends or family ever again. Unless a miracle happened, and happened quick, he knew he would be dead very soon.

"Now open the door and climb over to the drivers seat. Now." Joel reached for the handle. Until then, he hadn't realised that his hands were shaking. As he climbed into the car, he thought to himself that the only time he had felt sicker that this was the time he found Kelly in the bathtub. He tried to push that out of his mind as he settled himself into the driver's seat and saw Danson climb in next to him, the barrel of the gun now pressing into his right temple. "You know what to do." Joel understood. He started up the engine and moments later, the car began to move.

As he pulled away, he glanced into the rear view mirror and saw squad cars appearing in the distance. He figured they would enter the warehouse, find Fearless, either dead or alive, and a short while later they would realise that Joel had been abducted. By then, it would probably be too late. While he was terrified for his life, he was more worried about Kelly and Willie. What would happen? Kelly still wasn't strong enough to take care of their son himself. Would they take him away? The thought of the Stevens family being torn apart by something like this caused tears to form in his eyes. He blinked them away and continued to watch the road, trying his best to ignore that gun that was still aimed at his head.

They had been driving for less than five minutes when out of nowhere, a loud booming sound echoed through Joel's right ear. He jumped at the sound and, after realising that he was, in fact, still alive, he attempted to slam on the breaks. The car began to skid and had luckily slowed down enough so that the collision was not as bad as it may have been. The impact was still pretty intense. Joel's head flew forward and bounced off the steering wheel. Damn airbags. He felt his vision go white for a moment before settling down. Part of him was too terrified to see what had just happened, but the detective in him took over and he turned, prepared for the worst.

What he saw had him dumbfounded.

Next to him, was the body of Danson, blood covering the glass around them and a bullet hole in the side of his head. He hadn't even noticed until now that his face was sprayed with the man's blood. He was utterly confused until he heard a groan from behind him. He froze for a moment before recognising the voice. He turned.

"Man, you have _gotta _learn to drive better." Fearless was rubbing his head from where it had been introduced to the back of the driver's seat.

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Fearless approached Joel, holding an icepack to his head, as his friend sat in the back of the ambulance. The younger man had a patch covering the gash on his forehead and was sporting a lovely cut on his lower lip. He was also wrapped in a paramedics blanket causing him to look all the more vulnerable.

"You ok, Joel?"

Joel smiled. "Yeah, thanks." Fearless sat next to him. "So I gotta ask, what the hell were you doing in the back of that car?"

Fearless gave one of his victorious smirks. "I overheard that son of a bitch giving you those instructions back at the warehouse. When I heard what he was planning to do, I got to the car as fast as I could. Good job I got a spare set of keys…" both men gave a small laugh before Fearless continued. "I got in the back seat and hid in the foot-well. I stayed there and waited for you to start driving."

"Then you sat up, blew Danson away and caused me to crash the car?" Joel asked.

Fearless shrugged like a guilty child. "Pretty much."

Joel smiled again. "Thanks, Fearless. You saved my life. I really appreciate that."

Fearless put his hand on Joel's shoulder. "You're welcome, man. Did that guy really think he could kidnap Detective Joel Stevens and get away with it?"

"He clearly didn't know just who he was dealing with." Joel pointed at his friend. Fearless grinned, stood and took a small bow before turning to leave. A few seconds later, he turned back.

"Hey, Joel." Joel looked up. "Ya know I always got your back."

"Thanks, Fearless."

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_Well there you have it. My first Boomtown fic! _

_Hope it was worth reading!_

_Much love x_


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